Gone
by FlorenceBradbury
Summary: Gustave Flaubert once said, "A friend who dies, it's something of you who dies." But when it's your best friend and it's a suicide, it's actually a lot worse. One-Shot


**So I have writer's block for the main story I'm working on, so I decided to get this out of my system since it's been in my head for a while. It's like professional drabble. Enjoy.**

There is a girl, walking down an abandoned school hallway. Her gait is gentle and slow; she seems to be reflecting on something. Her kaleidoscope eyes flash in brilliant hues of green, brown, and blue, yet they are dark with hidden emotion. Her mass of chocolate hair is choppy and haphazardly thrown into a messy ponytail. It's not her first choice for a hairstyle, but she wears it with pride. She's beautifully sad.

_Local school girl ANNABETH CHASE was found dead on March 20, 2013. _

Piper McLean was never a huge fan of reading, but she could not stop reviewing the newspapers that morning. The words burned her eyes and stung her heart.

She walks up to a small shrine set up on one of the tables. It's covered with a bright rainbow of flowers and multicolored candles (which couldn't be lit due to school rules). There are many pictures of a smiling young girl with curly blonde hair and shining grey eyes. Next to the biggest one, there is a worn teddy bear. Piper kneels down so that she is at eye level with the tribute.

"Hey, Annabeth," she says, "It's me, Piper. But I guess you knew that already, since you're an angel or something. Or maybe you're just air, or a ghost. Confusing, isn't it? I can see why you're an atheist now," Piper laughs dryly.

Silence.

"We held a memorial for you, here at school," Piper says while looking at a picture of Annabeth grinning in her cheerleading uniform with her hair in her signature ponytail. She was always a little uncomfortable in that uniform, but nobody noticed. "You should've seen it; this crappy shrine thing is _nothing_ compared to the assembly. The band played your favorite song, all of the staff members and your closest friends gave a speech, we made lanterns decorated with words to describe you and we let them fly into the sky. It was beautiful."

_Chase was found in her bed with a knife in her heart and a suicide note on her dresser. The song _"Carmen" _by _Lana Del Rey _was playing on loop on her speakers. _

"Nobody's okay. We all pretend like nothing's wrong, but we're liars. How could we get over this? This is a small town; everybody knows you. People have little signs with your name on them in their windows. It makes me a little sad because you hate it when people do things like that. I mean, they know you, but they don't _know_ you. Not like me. They just feel bad because you left," Piper sobs, but quickly controls herself. "Although I guess I shouldn't complain. They do care, even if they weren't really close to you.

"Percy's on suicide watch, y'know," Piper says while looking at a picture of Annabeth with a handsome, black-haired boy with green eyes. They're at a school dance and Percy's holding her bridal-style, which is fitting for Annabeth's cream dress and Percy's tux. They're laughing, and you can tell that they're in love. "He's taking it the hardest. He cried his eyes out when he found out, but he stopped. Now I wish he would cry. He just sits in his room with a picture of you; he doesn't eat or sleep or talk or do much of anything, really. Nobody blames him, though. Who would? But I'm worried about him. It's hard to look at him and see the happy-go-lucky guy he used to be. Now he's just a shell, and we don't know if and when he'll break."

He's not the only one freaked out. Remember Lacy, that sweet airhead of a cheerleader? Well the squad was talking when Lacy asked where you were. She seemed genuinely lost. I cried, but not loud enough to not hear Silena explain it to her. It was like stabbing a knife wound," Piper winces, "I-I'm sorry. That came out wrong; poor choice of words on my part."

_It is unknown why Chase committed suicide. No incidents of bullying or abuse were reported and everybody says that Chase seemed like a very happy girl. Her parents Fredrick and Athena Chase are looking into the matter._

"It feels really weird without you here. We've known each other since we were 3; it's hard imagining life without you. Sometimes people try to compensate with humor, but it's hard to make this funny. Almost like those Amanda Todd and 9-11 jokes you used to laugh at. I could never understand why you liked those so much; they were about such depressing topics. Whenever I asked you would just say 'death can be funny sometimes.' I remember those exact words coming out of your mouth. I guess red warning flags should've gone off in my head, but I just thought you were kidding. Looks like the jokes on me. Ha."

I can't help but blame myself," Piper cries, "I mean, you're my best friend, practically my _sister_. I should've noticed that something was wrong, but I didn't. Maybe I could've stopped you or something. But now it's too late."

I'm also kinda pissed at you. I just don't understand why you did it. You had _everything_. You were popular, you had friends, you were a genius, you had a nice family, you were beautiful, and you had a hot boyfriend who _loved_ you. And you just threw it away and nobody knows why. I have to say, that for the first time ever, you did something really fucking _stupid_." The tears are flowing at this point, and the words are twisted and thick. "You must not have known how important you were. Because you were one of the most loved people here." Piper composes herself and stands. "And now you're gone."

_The town is devastated by this tragedy, and the funeral will be held next Thursday on March 28, 2013. In lieu of flowers, Chase wrote that she'd rather have people donate to the Red Cross. _

"Goodbye, Annabeth Chase."

XXXX-LINE BREAK-XXXX

20 Years Later

Piper sits at the sleek desk that sits in her room. Motherhood has softened her pretty features, but she looks basically the same as she did in high school. She's reading "To Kill a Mockingbird"; it reminds her of happier days with her childhood friend. Her husband Jason is at work and Piper's staying at home to raise her second child, an infant son named Hunter.

"Momma," her daughter says while knocking on the door, "Can I come in?"

Piper looks up from her book. "Sure, sweetie."

Piper's daughter Annabeth Grace walks into the room and does a belly flop onto her mother's bed. She's a petite 15 year old with wide brown eyes and, to Piper's joy, curled blonde hair. She's remarkably intelligent and very much like her namesake.

"Can you help me with this project?" Annabeth asks, "I need to interview one of my parents on the person who made the biggest impact their life and I wanted to see who yours was."

Piper smiles. "Well, I do have someone. It's kind of a sad story, but I think you'll be okay." Piper sits to face her daughter in the bed. "Do you remember Annabeth? Annabeth Chase?"

"You mean the girl you were friends with? Didn't Uncle Percy date her when he was younger?" Piper nods. "Yeah, I remember, but I don't know much about her."

"Well, Annabeth's your namesake, as you've probably figured out by now. I think it's time I told you about her."

XXXXXX

We don't know what happens when we die. Nobody can tell us for certain where we'll go or what we'll become. But somewhere, whether it be heaven or Elysium or just the warm breeze in the air, Annabeth Chase is happy.

**R&R!**


End file.
